2009-2015 Cadillac CTS-V General Discussion Discussion, Pics of *delivered* CTS-Vs here in Cadillac CTS-V Series Forum - 2009-2015; Originally Posted by BBD
Hi everyone it has been a long time since I have posted on the forum.
I ...

Re: Pics of *delivered* CTS-Vs here

Nice. How do you like it? I am surprised Cadillac let's you take it with High Performance Summer rubber in the winter. Wouldn't happen in Germany. Anyhow I love my V-Wagon. I have used the sport suspension (for the 130 miles I have not the car now) but not competition mode. The one difference between this car and my E39 M5 is that the steering is pretty light and doesn't feel as connected to the road. Perhaps competition mode changes this? How do you like the feel compared to the M3?

Re: Pics of *delivered* CTS-Vs here

Originally Posted by jwbhole

I am surprised Cadillac let's you take it with High Performance Summer rubber in the winter.

I was given a choice of delivery dates and was watching the route forecasts pretty closely. Picked those couple of days to make the trip because the weather was going to be clear and (mostly) above freezing. Going to Calgary got a bit dicey because I ended up going through Banff in the dead of night and the temperature got down to -6C, but my M3 was shod with Continental Extreme Contact DWS tires, one of the best high-performance all-season tires in the cold, so I got through ok.

Taking the V back with the Pilot Sport PS2s, I was able to get through all the passes in the daytime, then avoided the notorious Coquihalla Pass (which was the most direct route) at night. Ended up having to drive in the Fraser Canyons at night with the adaptive headlights getting a workout, but made it through alright in the end.

Originally Posted by jwbhole

The one difference between this car and my E39 M5 is that the steering is pretty light and doesn't feel as connected to the road. Perhaps competition mode changes this? How do you like the feel compared to the M3?

I do feel the same. The V is very light when steering from the center, so much so that I find it easy to steer too much around corners. The steering feel does tighten up when you go faster and turn more from center though. I took the same route going to Calgary with the M3 and then back with the V, and at no times did I feel I can make it through a corner with the M3 but not with the V.

Speaking of the steering, I must complain about the V's steering wheel, which is just a regular CTS's steering wheel albeit wrapped in suede in my case. The 3 spokes are kind of flimsy and I find the wheel to be too thin. I much prefer BMW M's philosophy of putting in smaller but thicker wheels into their sports sedans.

However, lest I sound like I don't like the V, let me say that as mentioned above, for my needs the V is just as agile as my old M3, and then there's the mid-range torque... Oh. My. God. That. Fat. Torque. Curve.

Finally, and my favorite thing.... The V is a lot more rare in my town, which is filled with young kids driving BMW M3s. Once I've walked out to the mall parking lot, and spotted 7 (yes, SEVEN) V8 M3s in the lot, not including my own. Whereas the last time I spotted a V on the road was about 6 months ago. Yep, this one is a keeper!

Re: Pics of *delivered* CTS-Vs here

You are spot on. It's a cool car. They are pretty rare, and the Vagon that I have is really rare. You are correct on the steering wheel. Why didn't they add another half inch of stuffing to match BMW. Have fun with it!

Re: Pics of *delivered* CTS-Vs here

@ Marcusp23-The pic I have on my phone is too large it says, ant I am waiting on Internet to get setup at our house(just moved to Pensacola) anyways I am very happy with the paddles, they are matte black aluminum, look factory.

Re: Pics of *delivered* CTS-Vs here

Originally Posted by Veritable

Drove 1000km to Calgary on Sunday:

Loaded, 6MT, Black Diamond / Satin Graphite / Red calipers.

Congratulations! You should have said something and we could have had a drink or something on Sunday night. I was at Jack Carter maybe two weeks ago and while I was looking at your car on the floor an old and oversized salesman came up to me and he was being smart like: Should I get that ready for you Sir? I replied: No, I already own the one parked in the front, and he left.
George